Woman's rape lies ruined our lives, say victims

Men who were falsely accused of rape by the same woman have described how her lies "ruined" their lives.

Stacey Sharples, 30, was jailed for four-and-a-half years on Wednesday after pleading guilty to 10 counts of perverting the course of justice.

She had lied about being attacked by 10 men from across Greater Manchester between 2013 and 2019.

Nine of those men gave victim impact statements at Bolton Crown Court - detailing how their lives were impacted by the false claims.

Reece Lockett said his parents completely cut all ties with him after Sharples made up the rape allegations.

"My mum and dad disowned me," he said.

"My partner of five years left me. I lost my part-time job."

He said he was also scared to walk around his neighbourhood as he "felt labelled".

"People messaged me on Facebook accusing me of something I didn't do, and that made me feel isolated and ashamed, even though I knew the truth," he added.

Kaylum Davis said the false claims "affected me greatly".

"Some of my friends fell out with me over this accusation. I still think about this to this day.

"Now it's all out in the open and her lies have caught up with her, it's made me speak about it more as it's easier to explain to people due to all the other individuals on this case has said their part, who were also wrongly accused."

Andrew Dearden said Sharples' lies affected his mental health.

"Although I was released with no further action for the allegations, sometimes I start to think about them, and my depression starts to get worse," he said.

He added the ordeal has had "a detrimental effect on my life and caused me to not look after myself".

Astron Inman said: "Words can't describe the torment my head has gone through.

"I moved to Sweden not long after to re-evaluate my life and wasn't a part of my children's lives for a couple of years."

He said it had affected his future relationships as well, adding: "I have been single ever since and I find it hard how to approach the opposite sex."

Andrew Jackson said he was prevented from seeing his daughter throughout the course of the investigation.

"My relationship with my daughter is really important to me and the fact I wasn't able to see her has had a significant impact on me," he said.

"I have missed out on key milestones and everyday moments, not being able to fix the situation quickly has caused me intense frustration and to feel powerlessness.

"I have worried about court outcomes for so long for something I know that did not happen."

He added: "Being a parent is central to my identity and separation from my daughter felt like losing a part of myself."

Jack Byrne said he was unable to "function normally" after Sharples made false allegations about him.

"I was signed off work due to stress and anxiety," he said.

"I struggled with constant worry about my future, my reputation, and the possibility of losing everything I had built.

"The stress affected my sleep, my appetite, and my overall mental health.

"I felt depressed, isolated, and ashamed - even though I knew I was innocent."

Connor Austen said Sharples' lies affected every aspect of his life.

"When this came out I had no opportunity to explain to my partner at the time about the false accusations," he said.

"I lost my home, my partner and had to defend myself for something I never did. I lost my job and couldn't get another one.

"It affects me still now in future relationships thinking, 'can I trust them or am I gonna be accused again'.

"She ruined seven years of my life."

Another man who was falsely accused by Sharples, who did not want to be identified, said: "The arrest was difficult to process and as my family were present at the time this made it very difficult to explain the situation.

"This really strained relationships with family and friends and to this day still has an impact on my relationship with them.

"At the time my ex-partner also prevented me from seeing my child for the duration of the investigation.

"As you can imagine these were extremely difficult times."

A man, who was the last Sharples falsely accused, said: "Immediately prior to my arrest, I would say my life was the best it had ever been.

"I had been with my partner for ten years. I had a good job, and I had a nice house.

"Soon after, due to circumstances out of my control, I became homeless.

"I began misusing alcohol – I was not drinking every day, but when I did have a drink, I would drink until I was black-out drunk to drown things out- the things going on in my own head.

"I would stay out until five in the morning – acting like an idiot and getting into fights. If I'm honest with myself, I'm still struggling with that now.

"Before my arrest, none of this was a problem."

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